Electric toy vehicle and track therefor



March 11, 1969 ARNOW 3,431,674

ELECTRIC TOY VEHICLE AND TRACK THEREFOR Filed Feb. 2l, 1966 Sheet of 73 INVENTOR. Lewis Arnow BY Q AT TORNiEY March 11, 1969 ARNOW ELECTRIC TOY VEHICLE AND TRACK THEREFOR Sheet 2 of 2 iled Feb. 21, 1966 FIG. 2A

FIG.4

FIGS

United States Patent 3,431,674 ELECTRIC TOY VEHICLE AND TRACK THEREFOR Lewis Arnow, 33 Bull St., Newport, RI. 02840 Filed Feb. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 529,091 U.S. Cl. 46244 11 Claims Int. Cl. A63h 30/02, 33/26; B61b 13/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A model electric motor propelled toy and a model raceway over which the toy may be directed; the raceway having conductive track portions in insulative relationship to each other and the toy having depending contacts for engaging the track portion and passing current to the toy motor, together with power input means for selective connection with selective care of the track elements to energise the motor and to provide for steering of the toy.

Such a toy may be, for example, a model car track or raceway. Model car tracks or raceways have become popular during the past few years. However, presently available raceway systems are basically only extensions of the model train concept wherein the cars, as the trains, are confined to a specific one dimensional path by means of restraining rails, slots or other mechanical guides. Such a concept has only limited realism for model car operation because the only control exercisable is the regulation of the speed of the models.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a more realistic model raceway.

It is another object of the invention to provide a more realistic model raceway wherein a vehicle has two degrees of freedom of movement over a surface.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a more realistic model raceway wherein the vehicles can independently be remotely controlled to move in any direction over a surface.

Briefly, the invention contemplates a surface member which can represent a raceway, at least one movable device which can represent a model vehicle, and a source of electrical energy for supplying power to move the movable device over the surface member.

The surface member comprises a plurality of elongated electrically conductive elements. The elements not only are insulated from each other but are disposed in equispaced mutually parallel relationship.

The source of electrical energy has two output tenninals which are instantaneously at different polarities. The output terminals can contact first and second of the electrically conductive elements. These elements are a given lateral distance apart.

The movable device comprises at least three contact means for contacting the elements as the movable member moves over the surface member.

The contact means are so arranged with respect to each other that when one of the contact means is in contact with the first of the elements, the second or the third contact means or both the second and third contact means are in contact with the second of the elements for various orientations of the movable device with respect to the elements. The movable device includes electromechanical drive means which is connected to the contact means for driving the movable device over the surface member. The drive means drives the movable device parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elements only when the second and third contact means simultaneously contact the second element while the first contact means contacts the first element, and drives the movable member lateral to the longitudinal axis of the elements when only one of the 3,431,674 Patented Mar. 11, 1969 second and third contact means contacts the second element.

Other objects, the features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawing which shows apparatus for practicing the invention. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows, schematically, the pertinent details of a model raceway and vehicle in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a portion of another embodiment of the raceway and the geometry of two contact means configurations with respect thereto;

FIG. 2A is a transverse sectional view showing a portion of the raceway illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view, partially in schematic, of another embodiment of the model vehicle;

FIG. 4 shows, schematically, the pertinent portions of the electrical circuitry of another embodiment of the electromechanical drive means; and

FIG. 5 shows a pivotable support for the contact means.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a model raceway is shown comprising a surface member or track 10, a movable device such as a toy vehicle 12, and a source of electrical energy 14.

Track 10 comprises a plurality of electrically conductive elements A to I which may be of endless form. Each of such track elements comprises a lamina of electrically conductive material such as aluminum or copper. The elements include parallel, longitudinally extended portions of equal width. Each pair of elements is separated by an insulating medium such as a narrow air gap 16. In track 10 the longitudinally extending portions of elements A-I may be of any desired length.

Source of electrical energy 14 is a step down variable transformer having a secondary winding connected to output terminals or contacts 18 and 20 and a primary winding connected via line cord 22 to plug 24. Plug 24 is insertable into a conventional household outlet of sixty cycle alternating current. Contacts 18 and 20 are separated from each other by an integral number of element widths. Although contacts 18 and 20 are shown in surface contact With track elements E and H, they are manually positionable against any other pair of elements that are separated from each other by two elements.

As a practical matter, source 14 and its contacts will actually be connected to a similar sequence of elements of smaller dimension remote from the track 10, wherein each of the similar elements is electrically connected in sequence with corresponding track elements of track 10. By reason of the alternating current nature of the source 14, track elements E and H have different polarities at any given time.

Vehicle 12 comprises a body 26 and a first set of wheels 28, 30 connected to shaft 32 of a unidirectionally rotatable motor 34 mounted on a rear portion of body 26. Motor 34 is of the universal type with a wound field which operates on either alternating or direct current but always rotates in the same direction regardless of the direction of current flow. A ring gear 36 is fixed to an axle 40A and is pivotably mounted by pin 40 to the front end of body 26. Mounted on axle 40A is a set of freely rotatable front wheels 42 and 44. Stops 48 and 50 on body 26 limit the turning angle of the front Wheel assembly. A spring 52 having one end 54 connected to body 26 and the other end 56 connected to gear 36 biases the front wheel assembly toward the straight ahead position thereof. Ring gear 36 is driven by pinion 58 connected to the shaft of a DC motor 60 fixed to body 26. Motor 60 is of the direct current permanent field magnet type.

Extending downward from body 26 are three electrical 3 contacts 62, 64 and 66 which contact track as vehicle 12 moves thereover. These contacts have a specific geometric relation with respect to each other and with respect to the track width of the elements A, B, etc. of the track 10. Generally, the contacts are laterally disposed across the body 26 and are displaced from each other so that "when contact 66 is in contact with element H, both of the contacts 62 and 64 are in contact with element E if vehicle 12 (more particularly, the major longitudinal axis thereof) is oriented in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of track elements A to I. If this is not the case, with movement of the vehicle one of the contacts 62 or 64 will soon lose contact with element E.

More specifically, contacts 62 and 64 are adjacent each other and have a lateral length sufificient to span the insulating gap 16 between the track elements. Adjacent ends of contacts 62, 64 have a spacing therebetween less than the width of a track element but large enough so that said contacts 62, 64 may span gaps 16 on either side of the element. Contact 66 has a lateral length sufiicient to span one element and both of its adjacent insulating gaps and make contact with the elements on either side of the one element. The lateral spacing between contacts 66 and contacts 62 and 64 is substantially equal to the spacing between contacts 18 and 20 of current source 14.

Contact 62 is connected via the diode 68 and contact 64 is connected via the diode 70, to an input terminal of DC motor 60. The cathode of diode 70 is connected to contact 64 and the anode of diode 68 is connected to contact 62. Therefore, only one of the diodes conducts at any given time. The other terminal of DC motor 60 is connected to an input terminal of motor 34 Whose other input terminal is connected to contact 66.

The operation of the vehicle will be described in the position shown in FIG. 1. During a positive lobe of the alternating current cycle a pulse of current flows from contact 18 via track element E, contact 62, diode 68, motor 60, motor 34, contact 66 and track element H to contact 20. The pulse of current through motor 34 causes the motor to give an impulse to shaft 32 which moves the car forward. The pulse of current through motor 60 should cause it to deliver a rotary impulse in a first direction to gear 36. During a negative lobe of the alternating current cycle, a pulse of current flows from contact 20, via element H, contact 66, motor 34, motor 60, diode 70, contact 64 and element E to contact 18. Again, the pulse of current through motor 34 causes it to give another impulse to shaft moving the vehicle forward. However, since the current pulse is opposite to the current pulse resulting from the positive lobe, motor 60 delivers an oppositely directed rotary impulse to gear 36. Because of the electrical inertia of motor 60; and the mechanical inertia of motor 60 and the gears 58 and 36 and wheels 42, 44; the rotary impulses are integrated. Therefore, the sixty cycle current impulses are cancelled and no change of direction is effected.

If, however, the vehicle 12 is laterally displaced so that one of the contacts 62 or 64 no longer contacts track element B, only a series of unidirectional current pulses pass through motor 60. Therefore, gear 36 is rotated, turning the front wheel assembly. Motor 60 is phased so that the turning effect is sufiicient to move the vehicle back on the path defined by elements E and H.

It should be noted that to steer the vehicle 12, contacts 18 and 20 of source 14 are laterally moved. For example, if they are moved so that they contact track elements D and G, then current pulses only pass through motor 60 from diode 68, i.e., only current pulses in one direction through motor 60 and only unidirectional rotary impulses are directed to the front wheel assembly. The wheels 42 and 44 turn and the vehicle moves to the left of its direction of travel until both the contacts 62 and 64 contact element D.

In FIG. 2, there is shown a portion of an alternate embodiment of the track. Track 10' is a sheet of insulative material with a plurality of equally spaced longitudinally extending slots. In each of the slots is a conductor 1, 3, the conductors can be wires or laminae standing on edge and fiush with the top of the sheet. The contacts 62, 64 and 66 of the vehicle are shown on the track 10. In this case contacts 62 and 64 should be long enough to simultaneously bridge at least two of the conductors, and they should be laterally oriented with respect to each other so that they partially overlap. Contact 66 should be long enough to at least bridge three of the conductors. The lateral spacing between contact 66 and the overlap region of contacts 62 and 64 should equal the spacing between the contacts of the electrical energy source. Also shown in FIG. 2 is a second set of contacts associated with a second vehicle. The contacts 62', 64' and 66' of the second vehicle are the same as the contacts 62, 64 and 66 of first vehicle except that the lateral distance between contact 66 and the overlap of contacts 62 and 64 is greater than that of the contact set 62, 64 and 66. Therefore, the contact set of the second vehicle cannot receive electrical energy from the electrical energy source. However, by providing a second electrical energy source having output contacts spaced to conform with the spacing of the contact set of the second vehicle, the motors of the second vehicle can be independently energized. It should be noted that because of the spacing of the output contacts of the second electrical energy source, it cannot energize the motors of the first vehicle. Thus, it is possible to independently control the movements of two vehicles on the same track.

In FIG. 3, there is shown another embodiment of the vehicle and the two energized conductors of the track of FIG. 2. Assume the positive and negative output terminals of a direct current source respectively contact conductors 13 and 33.

The vehicle 12 has a body 26 which carries two DC motors 70 and 72 whose shafts 74- and 76 are respectively connected to rear wheels 78 and 80. A cross member 82 is pivotably mounted for movement about a vertical axis on the front end of body 26 by a pin 84. Cross. member 82 is freely pivotable, however a spring 86 having one end 88 fixed to member 82 and another end 90 fixed to body 26 bias% the member 82 to a neutral straight ahead position. Stops 87 and 89 on body 26 limit pivoting of member 82. Front wheels 92 and 94 are mounted to freely rotate at the opposite ends of member 82.

Depending from body 26 are the contacts 62, 64 and 66. Contact 62 is connected to the input terminal of motor 72. Contact 64 is connected to input terminal of motor 70. The return terminals of both motors are connected to contact 66.

As long as both the contacts 62 and 64 are in contact with conductor 13 and contact 66 is in contact with conductor 33, both motors are energized and the vehicle 12 moves parallel to conductors 13 and 33. If the axis of the vehicle 12' is slightly rotated with respect to the conductors, either contact 62 or 64 will no longer be in contact with conductor 13. Assume contact 62 loses contact. Only motor 70 is energized and its associated wheel 78 exerts a torque to rotate the vehicle clockwise as viewed in FIG. 3 until contact 62 regains contact with conductor 13. At that time, motor 72 is reenergized and the vehicle 12' again moves straight ahead. A similar phenomenon occurs when contact 64 loses contact except that a counterclockwise torque is generated. Thlll'S vehicle 12' is guided along the trac defined by conductors 13 and 33. In addition, for greater stability, the return terminals of motors 70, 72 may be each connected to individual contacts, not shown, and replacing contact 66, for straddling element 33, just as contacts 62, 64 straddle element 13.

Alternatively, the vehicle 12 may be operated with wheels 78, serving as front wheels, the contacts 62, 64, 66 being shifted to that end of the body and the wheels 78, 80 may or may not be pivotally mounted on the vehicle body.

Although the operation of vehicle 12' has been described as being guided along a given path, steering can be obtained by selecting pairs of conductors to be energized as described with respect to FIG. 1. Furthermore, by reversing the polarity of voltages on conductors 13 and 33, the vehicle can back up and can be steered while backing up.

In FIG. 4 there is shown an alternate embodiment of the motor assembly 34, 60 shown in FIG. 1. Elements of FIG. 4 which are the same as previously described elements, bear the same reference numerals. The difference resides in the construction of the previously described steering motor 60. Motor 60' has two oppositely wound field windings 92 and 94 of equal strength. One end of winding 92 is connected to contact 62, one end of winding 94 is connected to contact 64. The other ends of the two field windings are connected to one end of armature Winding 96 whose other end is connected to one input of motor 34. Contact 66 is connected to the other input of motor 34.

If both contacts 6-2 and 64 simultaneously receive current, the fields generated by windings 92 and 94- cancel and motor 60 does not generate a torque. However, if only one of the contacts 62 or 64 receives current, only one of the windings generates a field and motor 60' produces a steering torque.

Finally, in FIG. 5 there is schematically shown a vehicle 12". A disk 98 is supported in a plane parallel to the roadway beneath the body 26. Disk 98 is pivoted to body 26 by a pin 9-9. Disk 98 is magnetized as shown. Conductors 13' and 33' along with the remaining conductors include ferromagnetic material deeply imbedded in the insulating portion of the roadway 10. The magnetic lines of force will cause the disk 98 to maintain the same orientation with respect to the conductors regardless of the orientation of the vehicle 12". Hence for the guiding and turning of the vehicle up to 360, the contacts 62, 64 and 66 will always have the same orientation to the directions of the conductors. For greater effect, the ferromagnetic material can be polarized.

There will now be obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications and variations such as simultaneously energizing adjacent conductors of the track with different amplitudes of current so that any direction deviations are gradually corrected to give even finer control, guidance and stability of action. However, this and other variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

' What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a surface member comprising a plurality of parallel electrically conductive track elements ,in insulated and equispaced relation to each other, an

electrically operated device movable in any direction over said surface member, a source of electrical energy having a pair of output terminals which are of different polarities at any given time instant, said output terminals being selectively connectible with a selected pair of track elements having a given spacing therebetween, said movalble device having at least three contact means for contacting said track elements as said device moves over said surface member, said contact means having a spacing pattern so that when at least one of said contact means is in contact with one of said pair of track elements, the second of said contact means is in contact with the other of said pair of track elements and the third contact means is only in contact with the other of said pair of track elements for a given directional orientation of said movable device with respect to said track elements, and drive means electrically connected to said contact means for driving said movable device over said surface member in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said track elements only when said second and third contact means simultaneously contact the other of said pair of track elements while said first contact means contacts the one of said pair of track elements, and for driving said movable device in a direction laterally of the longitudinal axis of said track elements when only one of said second and third contact means is in contact with the other of said pair of track elements, said mova ble device being steered over said surface member in response to a shift in the connection of said output terminals to another pair of track elements from said first mentioned pair of track elements, said other pair of track elements having a spacing equal to that of said first mentioned pair of track elements.

2. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said surface member is a sheet of insulative material provided with a plurality of elongated slots mutually parallel and equispaced from each other, and a plurality of electrical conductors, each of said conductors being disposed in one of said slots.

3. The combination as in claim 2 wherein said electrical conductors includes ferromagnetic material.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said movable device comprises a body, a first set of wheels rotatably mounted near one end of said body, a unidirectionally rotatable motor including an output shaft and first and second input terminals, means for connecting said output shaft to said first set of wheels, a member pivotably mounted near the other end of said body to rotate about a vertical axis, a second set of Wheels rotatably mounted on said member, a DC motor including an output shaft and first and second input terminals, means for connecting the output shaft of said DC motor to said member, first and second unidirectional current conducting devices connecting said second and third contact means respectively to the first input terminal of said DC motor, said first and second unidirectional current conducting devices conducting current in opposite directions, the first input terminal of said unidirectionally rotatable motor being electrically connected to at least one of said second and third contact means and the second input terminals of both of said motors being electrically connected to said first contact means, and wherein said source of electrical energy is a source of alternating current.

5. The combination as in claim 4 wherein the first input terminal of said unidirectionally rotatable motor is connected to the second input terminal of said DC motor so that said first input terminal is connected to said second and third contact means via said DC motor, and the second input terminal of said DC motor is connected to said first contact means via said unidirectionlly rotatable motor.

6. The combination as in claim 4 and further comprising means for biasing said pivotably mounted member to a given angular position thereof.

7. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said movable device comprises first and second wheels rotatably mounted near one end of said body, first and second DC motors each having an input terminal, a return terminal and an output shaft, means for connecting the output shaft of said first DC motor to said first wheel to rotate the latter, means for connecting the output shaft of said second DC motor to said second wheel to rotate the latter, means for connecting the input terminal of said first DC motor to said second contact means, means for connecting the input terminal of said second DC motor to said third contact means, means for connecting the return terminals of both of said DC motors to said first contact means, and third and fourth wheels rotatably mounted near the other end of said body, and wherein said source of electrical energy is a source of direct current.

8. The combination as in claim 7 wherein said movable device further comprises means for pivotably mounting one of said sets of wheels on said body to pivot about a vertical axis.

9. The combination as in claim 7 wherein said movable device comprises a cross member pivotably mounted on said body to pivot about a vertical axis, said third and fourth wheels being rotatably mounted at opposite ends of said cross member, and means for biasing said cross member to a neutral pivot position.

10. The combination of claim 1 wherein said movable device comprises a body, a first set of wheels rotatably mounted near one end of said body, a unidirectionally rotatable motor including an output shaft and first and second input terminals, means for connecting said output shaft to said first set of Wheels, a member pivotably mounted near the other end of said body to rotate about a vertical axis, a second set of Wheels rotatably mounted on said member, a DC motor including an output shaft and first and second input terminals, an armature having a Winding, and first and second oppositely Wound field windings, having first and second ends, gear means for connecting the armature of said DC motor to said member, means for connecting the first end of said first field winding to said second contact means, means for connecting the first end of said second field winding to said third contact means, means for connecting the second ends of said field windings to one end of the armature Winding, the first input terminal of said unidirectionally rotatable motor being electrically connected to at least one of said second and third contact means, and the second end of said armature winding and the second input terminal of said unidirectionally rotatable motor being electrically connected to said first contact means.

11. The combination as in claim 1 and further comprising a magnetic member pivotably mounted on said movable member to pivot about .a vertical axis for supporting said contact means and wherein said electrically conductive elements include ferromagnetic material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,690,626 10/1954 Gay et a1. 46243 X 3,239,963 3/1966 Smith et a1. 46244 3,339,307 9/1967 Floyd et al. 46244 LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. C1. X.R. 104-149 

